North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[<dmnorton@royaloakfarmorchard.com>]

Michael,

 

No matter what type of sprayer you are using, to assure the best reach and coverage, your sprayer should be calibrated.  Calibrating the sprayer will assure the best overall coverage and minimize A handheld sprayer, backpack sprayer or small capacity sprayers can be calibrated in generally the same manner.  If you are using a hand held wand, you can follow these procedures:   

Calibrate hand-held sprayers by 1) spraying a known area using water, 2) measuring the amount of water applied, and 3) calculating the number of gallons applied per acre (gpa). For example, 1.5 gallons on 1,000 sq. ft. is the same as 65 gallons per acre.

          (43,560 sq. ft. per acre / 1,000 sq. ft.) x 1.5 gallon = 65 gpa.

The desired rate in lb/A or pt/A or oz/A is used to calculate the amount of product to add to the spray solution. For example, If 3 pt/A is desired:

          3 pt/A / 65 gpa = 0.046 pt. or 0.74 fl. Oz. or
          1.5 tablespoons per gallon of spray solution
          (16 fl. oz. = 1 pt.; 2 tablespoons = 1 fl. Oz.).

When calibration of a hand-held sprayer is not possible and the product used is safe to the environment and non-target plants, a volume of
50 to 70 gpa can be assumed. However, the actual volume applied can vary considerably with the type of sprayer, spray pressure and technique of the applicator, so calibration is strongly encouraged.

For a more indepth look at two small sprayer calibration methods, visit http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/forestry/456-502/456-502.html#L2 Hope this helps!

Dennis Norton
Royal Oak Farm Orchard
Office (815) 648-4467
Mobile (815) 228-2174
Fax (609) 228-2174
http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com
http://www.theorchardkeeper.blogspot.com
http://www.revivalhymn.com

----- Original Message -----

From: "V. Michael Bove, Jr." <vmb@teakettlefarm.com>

To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>

Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 7:19 PM

Subject: [NAFEX] Fimco trailer sprayers

> Hoping to save my back from the weight of a full backpack sprayer 
I'd  
> decided to get a 15-gallon Fimco trailer sprayer this year, 
and when I  
> saw that the Tractor Supply store had them on sale 
this weekend for  
> what seemed to be $50-60 less than all the 
mail-order suppliers were  
> asking, I grabbed one.
> 
> 
After getting it home I found that there are two variants of Fimco 15- 
> 
gallon sprayer: the one that pretty much every other place carries  
> (with a 2 GPM pump), and the one that Tractor Supply carries  
> (essentially the same but with a 1 GPM pump and a slightly 
different  
> spray wand).  Does anyone have experience spraying 
dwarf trees with  
> the latter?  Just making sure I won't be 
too disappointed with the  
> reach or coverage...  
Thanks.
> 
> --Michael Bove
> Teakettle Farm, Z6 (MA/RI 
border)
> 
> 
> 
>